Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh said Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), a popular Hakka politician, became the first female mayor of a special municipality by stepping in as acting mayor of Kaohsiung after he was appointed premier in 2005.
"She followed my step in becoming the mayor," Hsieh said. "And since I was once the premier, she may become a premier, too."
"If I am elected president, the nation may also have a female Hakka president in the future," he said.
first gathering
Hsieh made the comments in a rally held in front of Hsinchu's Yimin Temple yesterday. The occasion yesterday also marked the first time that Hsieh, his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Yeh were all present at a public gathering since Hsieh's announcement of his choice of Su as his vice presidential running mate on Aug. 15.
Although Hsieh did not choose Yeh, who had expressed her interest in being Hsieh's running mate, Yeh was tapped by President Chen Shui-bian (
Hsieh has billed his union with Su and Yeh as the "golden triangle."
Yesterday's rally was held to drum up the Hakka community's support for Hsieh and Su, Hsieh's campaign office spokesman Chao Tien-lin (
ethnic harmony
Hsieh pledged to promote harmony among different ethnic groups at the rally.
"I believe in coexistence. I believe we have to prevent children from all ethnic communities in Taiwan from feeling threatened, in danger or persecuted, whether they be Hoklo, Aborigines, Hakka or Mainlanders," Hsieh said.
"This is our dream. No matter where you come from, no matter which ethnic community you were born in, we are all the same," he said.
Hsieh also vowed to oppose the idea of a cross-strait common market and unification with China advocated by his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou (
"We will never allow Chinese laborers to compete for jobs with us in Taiwan," said Hsieh. "We will never allow Chinese women to compete for Taiwanese husbands. We will never allow low-quality merchandise from China to threaten our livelihood."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it